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Friday, October 24, 2008

We slept in a bit this morning and just hung out in our hotel room while it rained outside. When the rain slowed down, we got ready and headed for Epcot. We got there about noon. I think we checked out every exhibit/ride at the front of the park except for Soaring because the line was really long and they were out of fast passes and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience because, judging by the Bug's Life Show, we figured the little kids would freak out. Tell me, are there any Disney fanatics out there who remember what The Land ride used to be like? I could swear there were fruits and veggies that sang, "Listen to the laaaand, listen to the land." I remember the ride smelling like oranges. It's nothing like I remember. Can anyone back me up on this? Another ride I remember was a submarine in Magic Kingdom. I think it may have been a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride. There's nothing like that there now. Does anyone remember this?

Anyway, we had a fun few hours at Epcot. We left early and came back to our room for sandwiches and cupcakes (it's Joe's birthday today.) While the kids were eating, I walked around the rooms picking up and folding clothes. I gathered coloring books, dolls, toys, and such and got things packed up. Oh my gosh, I didn't realize just how trashed the kids' bedroom had become! HOLY COW! The poor housekeeping people! They must have been scared out of their minds to enter that side of our room! I bet they did Rock, Paper, Scissors with each other to see who got stuck wading through the clothes, toys, and wet towels to make the bed.

Anyway, I saw that there were a ton of questions about Disney, so I thought I'd answer them here since I'll probably miss Sunday Sound Out again this week. (We get home late Saturday night and I leave really early Monday morning.)

You will Twitter won't you? How can we survive a WHOLE week without a Twitter? You've got me hooked!You and me both! It's a sickness. Can't. Stop. Twittering.

I don't know if you are bringing your own stroller or not, but I am a HUGE fan of the ones that you can rent there...they really are easy to push/steer and great when the smaller kids get tired of walking.

We just used our own stroller every day except for when we did the world pavillion at Epcot. We knew there would be a lot of walking around the countries there so we rented a double stroller that day. You're right, they steer very easily and are easy to push even with a couple bigger kids in them. But it's $31 for a double stroller for the day. Yikes! I suggest people bring their own. Especially if you're flying - who wants to carry little ones through the airport?

Hey Dawn! I, too, spent an entire day at Celebration Hospital when we were there on vacation! Did you get to see much of the city of Celebration?

I only saw the hallway in the hospital. They never even got me in a room while I was there dying of pain.

I have to ask, what was the reaction from the younger kids when they woke up Saturday morning and you told them you were going to Disney that day instead of Monday?

We're staying at the Marriott Grande Vista. The last time we were here, I was so thoroughly impressed with everything. I've been a little disappointed this time. Housekeeping has forgotten to leave us towels a couple times and the room just doesn't seem quite as clean as it was last year. The one side of the room has a nasty, musty smell that just hasn't gone away.

When you get a hotel, do you get two adjoining rooms?

We got a 2 bedroom villa.

Were you able to see the Lion King show? Did you try the train?We didn't see the Lion King show this time, but we saw it 7 years ago when we were there. It was great! And yes, we rode the train in Animal Kingdom.

SSO question for you: How did you decide to pull the kids out of school for a week for a vacation?

We only took them out 3 days because they had some days off this week. I didn't worry about the younger kids. Austin and Savannah will probably have more work to make up, but they both get really good grades so I wasn't too concerned.

P.S. (Let us know how the SafetyTats work with all the swimming, sunscreen, etc.)

Lexi and Brooklyn are still wearing the same ones I put on them on Sunday. They've had baths, they've gone swimming, and they've had suncreen slathered on them. They're still stuck on and you can still clearly read the phone number. Clay peeled his off after 4 days, so I just stuck a new one on him.

Do all the employees call you princess? Because I found that it doesn't matter how old you are--if you are female you are a princess in the eyes of the Disney employees, and if you are male you are a pirate. Everyone calls you princess

Hmmm, no one's called me a princess. What's up with that???

Are you guys using fast pass? Just wanna make sure!Absolutely! For those who don't know, some of the more popular rides offer "fast passes". You can put your ticket in a machine near the ride, and the machine will spit out a fast pass that enables you to return to the ride later in the day and bypass the long wait line. You either have a very short wait, or sometimes you can pretty much just walk up and get on the ride.Poor little Princess Brooklyn. What happened to her chinnie chin chin?She tripped and hit her chin on an end table in our room. She had just woken up and was still a little loopy when it happened.

I just wanted to say you look so pretty in the family picture and you've gotten so skinny!!

I am so not. It's just the angle. Believe me, I don't put the disgusting, fat pictures of me on my blog!

So did you buy anything in the gift shops? I do love those princess Mickey ears!

Eh, we got a couple gifts for people, passports for all 6 kids, ears for the 3 youngest, a necklace for Jax, and a couple charms for Savannah. Austin has yet to pick out something. Honestly though, the kids have been awesome. They've haven't been asking for stuff at all.

You are scaring me as I plan our trip for the busiest week of the year!! How about some tips about what to do for a princess that is Brooklyn's age to make it as nice as possible? Thanks!

A stroller that reclines so she can sleep! Seriously, I wouldn't recommend doing parks every day like we've done. I had bought these park hopper passes several years ago and they had 7 days on them. I didn't want to waste any, so we've been doing a LOT of park hopping. I think 3 or 4 days of parks with downtime in between the days would be ideal. Just my opinion.

have your younger children had a more difficult time other than for obvious reasons?

They've been troopers! They've all done better than I had hoped actually!

Great family pic and I have to agree I love your shirt....where did you get it?

I got it at Old Navy, but it's a few years old because I'm just that cutting edge with fashion.

Your kids are always going to talk about this. I bet as adults you'll hear "Remember when..." often. So cool.

Yeah, "Remember when Mom lost it and called that grumpy old man a buttmunch?" "Remember when Mom lost Clayton while looking for a table in that restaurant by Small World?" "Remember when Mom and Dad made us see that bug show that scared the crap out of us and scarred us for life?"

You didn't mention the French pastry shop, my all-time must-visit place at EPCOT.

I mentioned it on Twitter. I said I was in France and there was all this wine and all these pastries and I was too full to try any of it. :( I was very sad. I considered making myself throw up so I'd have to room to try some pastries. OK, no I didn't. You know how much I hate vomit!

(Im asking coz of twitter update) which rides were your kids scared of and why?

Jackson was scared of the Dinosaur ride in Animal Kingdom and the Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom. The 4 youngest were scared of the It's Tough to be a Bug show in Animal Kingdom. On the other hand, Lex and Clay surprised me because they weren't scared of the Haunted Mansion or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Lex wasn't scared of Space Mountain or Rock N Roller Coaster either.

Looks like you guys are having a great time! And is Miss Angie from Forida? I'm from Ohio and I spend time in North Carolina yearly. I swear everybody below the Ohio River thinks that people in the north have accents. I've been called a yankee while in NC. Then I've had people from Canada tell me I have a southern accent. Nobody can make up their mind.Yep, Angie's from Florida and I couldn't have more of a non-accent!

I have to disagree about the Enchanted Tiki House. It may be lame, but I love it. I'm sure it's because I remember that "ride" being featured on the Wonderful World of Color in the 1960s, when Disney World was just being built, and I was fascinated by the animatronics. It's a sweet nostalgic experience for me.

OK, my mom could've written this. This was one of her favorites which was part of the reason I wanted to see it this week. It didn't bring back nostalgic memories for me though and despite the fact they modernized the show with Zazu and Iago, I still thought it was lame.

I was wondering if you could share the name of the hotel you guys are staying in. My family and I are going to Disney in April and I've been looking everywhere online for a hotel/villa that offers a full kitchen and nice pools that's actually a NICE hotel. Would you be able to share that with us?

It's the Marriott Grande Vista. I know there's a Sheraton Vistana down the street that has villas with kitchens and nice pools too. Both hotels also offer activities for kids which is nice if you're not going to parks every day. Those are certainly not the only 2 around either. I just know people who have stayed at both and they were pleased. There are actually dozens around here. I checked sites like Orbitz, Travelocity, and Expedia to get an idea of what was out there and then went directly to the hotel's sites to get the best price. You can use an Entertainment book for coupons if you have one. Maybe even check with a travel agent for any deals. By attending the time share thing, I was able to save several hundred dollars plus they gave us some Disney dollars to use as well. I think you're probably safe if you do a time share at a well-known hotel chain (like Marriott, for example). I think you'll be dealing with professional people who, yes, want to sell time share units, but who also know it's important that you leave with a good feeling about their brand and are willing to come back and or tell friends about it. I'm not sure about this, but that's my theory.

If you want to stay on Disney Property, the All Star Resorts are the least expensive of Disney hotels. If you have a larger family, you may have to book 2 adjoining rooms, but you'll have the free transportation between parks that comes with staying in a Disney hotel. If you're only planning on doing Disney, you won't need to rent a car.

I'm really not any kind of expert on this stuff though. I suggest you go to your library and get The Unofficial Guide to Disney World and/or check out this site - MouseSavers.com

My friend Denise urged me to make dinner reservations months ago. I kept telling her that I didn't want to be tied down.

"We're more of a "fly by the seat of your pants" kind of family," I insisted.

She came back with, "You know what they call families who don't make dinner reservations in Disney?"

"No, what?" I asked."Hungry," she said.

Well we haven't gone hungry and we haven't had to spend tons of money eating out. Although I will admit that it might have been nice to have one or two nice sit-down dinners/breakfasts scheduled. If we ever come back, I think I'll have to break down and make a reservation or two.

Another thing friends told me to do was to come up with a plan of which parks you're visiting on which days. "Map out your route so you'll know which rides to hit first and which ones you should get fast passes for. Decide the most effective way to get to everything on your list.

OK, this is just not us. Sure, maybe we could've done more with less waiting if I'd mapped everything out, but we have six kids! We have to be flexible. We've just kinda gone with the flow this week. There have been very few things we missed. We've gotten to experience tons of things in each park. Because we haven't been tied to a schedule, we've been able to take breaks, eat, go on rides, go to shows whenever we felt like it. If one of the kids was hungry or tired, it was no big deal to grab some drinks and sit down and chill out for a while. This is something to consider, I guess. What kind of family are you? Type A - must have everything planned and know what you're doing when? Or are you a more laid-back, go with the flow, play-it-by-ear type family?

Here's hoping you had a great time at the Hollywood Studios. And I have to know... how do you sleep 8 in the two bedroom villa? I saw the 2 bedroom villa (our original room was a connecting one with the 2 bedroom), and ..We have 2 king size beds and 2 queen sleeper sofas so it's no problem.

Wow. Ok, weird that the park is closed on Fri and Sat.

OK, I'm just an idiot. The park isn't closed. Along with the maps of the park, they hand out these papers with the current park hours and attraction and show times. On the schedule, it listed park hours for Mon, Tues, and Wed. Then it listed different hours for Thurs, and Sun. It didn't list any hours at all for Fri and Sat. I assumed the park was closed those days. Duh. Of course it's not closed. I'm thinking maybe it was an oversight on this paper? Either that or I'm just extra stupid and, despite examining the paper 5 times, I'm just missing where it lists Fri and Sat hours.

Hey Dawn! Just curious how you guys handle it if you and Joe both want to go on a ride, but not all the kids do. Do you have to ride in two different groups? Which would mean waiting through line twice?!?!

Usually we switch off. When we get in line, we get a "switch ticket". The switch ticket kinda works like a fast pass. I'll go with the older kids while Joe watches the little ones, for example. When I come out, Joe will get in the fast pass line while I watch the little ones. The cool part is that the parent switching off can take up to 3 people with them so they don't have to ride alone. My kids got double rides a few times by doing this.

Did you get in trouble when you took that picture on the Great Movie ride? I took a picture of Mary Poppins when I was on it and I was quickly reprimanded by the tour guide...."I repeat, No Flash Photography!" At which point my kids all laughed and said "Yeah, listen to the rules next time!"

I didn't use my flash. I have a good camera. If there was enough light on the attraction, I just snapped pictures without my flash. If there wasn't enough light, the pictures turned out a bit blurry and I just deleted them.

To quote Ben Franklin:"Guests, and Disney family vacations, like fish, begin to smell after three days. "

Ben Franklin said this, huh? LOL!

How did brooklyn like the flights was she scared at all?

Brooklyn was fine on the flight. She wanted to get up and switch seats as we were landing and got pretty mad that she couldn't, but other than that, the kids were all great on the plane.

foodwise what did you do with Jackson on the trip? Did you keep him on Feingold's, or at least as much as you could?

Ugh. No. We decided we didn't want to even try. Jackson has had a free week and although he's loving every minute of being able to eat what he wants, his behavior has been pretty bad. That part has not been fun. I can't wait to get him back to the diet when we get home.

I just love this face! She was in a mood (as usual).

Fish are friends; not food. People, on the other hand...

Brooklyn didn't want to go near any shark!

and finally, the traditional picture of Brooklyn passed out cold

And here's the video I tried to put up yesterday. This is why you never want to visit parks for more than 2 or 3 days in a row.

60 comments:

The "Listen to the land..." ride was (still is actually) the boat ride you can take where you see all the fruits and veggies they grow at EPCOT to use in the parks. There used to be a show that had singing fruits and vegetables where Soarin' is now located called Kitchen Cabaret. My mom and I still sing songs from it.

I've lived in South Florida my entire life and go to Disney approx. once a year, so a lot of your comments cracked me up.

I was contemplating posting a comment on what a handsome family you have, but then I watched the video. KIDDING! Your kids are all very attractive, must be in the genes. Glad you survived the family vacation -- so far anyway.

I've had so much fun reading about your Disney trip! We live in Florida and try to go to Orlando whenever we can...we're heading to Animal Kingdom on Monday. Take care and have a safe trip back home!!!

They hand out a different paper on Friday/Saturday because of added show times, parades, etc., on the busier days. It can be confusing. I remember thinking a certain show wasn't playing on Friday, but I just didn't have the info for Friday yet.

I don't know about DW, but at Disneyland, the submarine was closed for a few years and then they updated it and turned it into a Nemo ride.

The submarine ride is gone, and in its place at MK is the Winnie the Pooh playground. As for never going to the parks for more than 3 days, our longest trip was 8 days. We would go early in the morning to opening, leave mid-day to go back to the hotel and swim/nap, then return late afternoon and stay until closing. It was the perfect way for us to do that parks. We've gone almost yearly since 2000, and our kids are now 14, 12, and 6.

The Land ride is still at Epcot. Went on it several times last December. It was in a building with several restaurants/food court. Submarine is gone. Ariel's grotto took the place of the sub (which was my favorite as a kid).

You just don't know how good it is to see someone say that they don't want to plan every minute of the day and book a bunch of dinner reservations. When we went in 2007, I had a real Disney addict telling me I needed to book, book, book dinners. I said, "Unless we will starve if we don't, no." I'm new to your blog and I am really enjoying it. Thanks for sharing!

Hats off to you, Dawn, for surviving all the days in a row at Disney! And still having everyone speak to each other.

Good to know on the maid service. My parents mentioned in May that it was a bit spotty. We've had not the greatest experience -- two days of no service, yesterday I called at 11 to ask that they come before 2 so the wee ones could nap and was told that they do it b/w 8 and 5 and they'd ask but couldn't promise anything. And the MOST unpleasant woman (who left us no kitchen towels but took our old ones) came at 3:15, waking everyone up. Wheeee! But small price to pay for so much fun!

The 20,000 Leagues Submarine ride closed in Florida's WDW ages ago, sadly. When my husband and I went there for our honeymoon in 1996, you could still see the submarines sitting there and there were rumors it might start up again, but no, Disney dismantled the subs and sold parts to fans. All gone.

There is a submarine ride at California's Disneyland (near us) and it was changed to have the Finding Nemo characters (pretty cute).

We did Disney a couple of years ago with 7 kids. We had the 7 day park hopper passes like you did along with tickets to a spring training game. We blew off the 7th day and hung out at the condo. The kids were DONE! I will totally recommend the Hilton Grand Hotel. It's about a 7 min drive to the hotel, there's a grocery store across the street along with several restaurants. We ate at Outback steak house and Golden Corral. We got into Outback with no trouble (party of 10) and they were great!

You are absolutely correct that there was a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea submarine. Last time we were there, they were taking it down to put in a new ride (don't remember which one). My husband always loved that ride and was so disappointed, that's why I remember.

The singing fruits and veggies sounds vaguely familiar, but can't really back you up on that one.

Umm... that video... I was expecting much, MUCH worse. My kids (6, 3, & 15 months) act like that at least a couple of times a week. That is why they go to bed at 7:15 :) We are planning a Disney trip when the youngest is 3, but I'd really like to do a cruise (they are relaxing!).

The Land has always been in its present form. However, there used to be an attraction in that same area called Kitchen Kabaret, or something like that, that had singing fruits and vegetables (and singing toasters too, I think!).

Also, for parents considering Disney, I'd recommend picking up the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob Sehlinger. Although it has detailed touring plans in it that I've never used, it also has words of wisdom akin to "3/4 of children who go into A Bug's Life leave screaming". You can also access touringplans.com which has a crowd calendar (that they base off of ridiculous amounts of data) that I've found to be fairly accurate.

Oh my god yes, I remember the ride smelling like oranges, and when I went back last year, no more orange smell. What's the big deal, Disney? That was the best part of the ride! And the 20000 Leagues Under the Sea ride is long gone...it used to pretend you "dived" in a "submarine," and then you went around a little track "under water." I think mostly it was too boring.

I guess I could be considered a Disney fanatic. I've been going for decades. I don't recall the Land having singing produce but it did used to be narrated by an actual person sitting at the front of the barge. 20,000 Leagues under the Seaea was done away with quite some time ago. It used to be where Ariel's Grotto and Pooh's Playground is now.

The dump shops are a pain when the kids are little but it gets better.

The best place to go for souvenirs is a Character Connection store in the outlet malls .... much cheaper.

We go every year (yes, we live in FL) in October because the EPCOT food & Wine festival is our favorite event.

Dawn, this is sooooo cool that you are in WDW now. Great time to go! Also, and this is really selfish of me but what the heck.. we are going Nov. 1 thru 7th so I'm super delighted to have updates almost immediately before we arrive!!!! Also, during the time my 4 kids were growing up, we never were able to get them all to WDW at the same time, so now that they're 28, 24, 21 and 19, we are FINALLY ALL GOING!!!!

ok, so thanks bunches for posting the great pics and posts. you guys are the bees knees with cheese.

I Love this blog. Found it through a friend. My wife and I will be taking another trip to the land of Disney in May. THis time with our little boy. He's not here yet....will be arriving in Jan. Anyway, enjoy reading your blog. Have a great week.

Dawn -I got your back on the Listen to the Land Ride. It did smell like oranges and the last time we went (back on April of 2007) it had changed. They did still have the mickey shaped pumpkins but didn't look like they were doing nearly as many fruits and veggies.

Yes, the Land ride used to be like that. And I had no earthly idea that they took the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride out!! That makes me sad. The tiki room is my favorite though. Love that place. :)

As a Disney Fanatic, I can tell you a little bit about what happened to some of the rides in Epcot and the Magic Kingdom. The Submarines were actually built over and is now Pooh's Thoughtful Spot. (There is actually a little tiny submarine somewhere inside of it, as a reminder.) Also, in the Land, there was a show called Kitchen Kabaret that sang, "Veggie, Veggie, Fruit, Fruit..." However, it closed in 1994, and was replaced by Food Rocks. ...I'm not sure this is what you are remembering though.

Personally, I haven't been to WDW since 2002, so it's great seeing pictures! What fun!

Also, (you probably have people saying this all the time but) as a homeschooled almost 18-year-old, I really do enjoy your blog. ^^

Ohhh Myyyyy.... I have one that is exactly like Jackson. Although he is 18 (19 in Dec) he STILL acts like this on certain days! That child (plus 2 relatively normal girls) drove me bonkers... how did you survive 6?!?!?

20,000 Leagues under the Sea is/was at DisneyLand in CA. It has been converted into a Finding Nemo ride like the Living Seas in Epcot, When we were there two years ago, it had just opened and had an enormous line with no Fast Passes.

I remember 20,000 leagues under the sea. It closed in 1999 and I believe it was replaced by the Nemo ride. I thoroughly enjoyed following your blog while you were at Disney. I'm glad you had such a great time in spite of a little chaos. I am hoping to plan a trip with my 4 kids in the next year.

I thought they were pretty good. At least they weren't fighting with each other (that we saw). I think Austin was contemplating jumping from the tram. He looked like he wanted to get as far away from everyone as possible. Hope everyone can catch up on some rest from all of that fun!

Not that I want to diagree with you but when we went to florida it was a big deal for us coming from Scotland, we didnot know we would ever make it back so we wanted to do everything. We park hopped for 11 days and still felt like we had a holiday. We got a villa about half an hour from the parks 3 bedrooms , 2bathrooms etc private pool, which wasnot much more exp. than 2hotel room we needed, we never left the house before 10am and usually got back about 7ish so we could eat, swim ,chillout and kids went to bed relaxed. we mixed the parks with water parks so werenot always doing rides which the hopper allowed and we took in seaworld and universal and Kennedy space centre, it can be done but ours were 2 at 8yrs and a 10 yr old which also makes a difference. Love the kids with the fish at epcot we took one as well which was my favourite photo of the tripThanks for sharing your hols Janice Dundee Scotland

Yes, yes, yes! I remember the 20,000 Leagues ride. I still have pictures I took out the portholes in the side. I remember it CLEARLY because my dad got claustrophobic at the end of the ride because we had to wait for the boat in front of us to disembark, and he stood up & cracked his head on the ceiling because he was panicking. The ride attendant had to tell him to sit down and gave him a paper bag to breathe in. I was 16 at the time (47 now); I was SO embarrassed!

There was a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride. It was closed years ago. The ride was an operational cost headache - not a lot of people could ride it due to the ride time and it wasn't pulling in the crowds or something along those lines - it was in the paper recently. WDW tore up the lagoon and put Pooh's Playground or some such in its place. The submarine ride at Disneyland was also closed, but reopened as a Finding Nemo attraction.

WELCOME HOME FRIEND!!I wish I could say, "Aren't you glad you get to just sit still for a couple days to recoup?" But...that is not the case, is it?Sheesh!Enjoyed your trip WITH YOU!Gotta love TWITTER!

If you do Disney again, do DisneyLAND (you know the original, the one in CA?). I'm probably just bias, but Disneyland has all the magic, plus really helpful and caring staff. It is smaller so your 7 days would have been 3 days in Disneyland (leaving the park at lunch everyday for a 2 to 3 hour break in your room, with still plenty of stress-free time to wander the park and ride the rides) and 2 days at California Disney (which is WAY more than you need to ride all the rides and see everything, so you could do the last half day back at Disneyland doing anything you might have possibly missed). This would include doing a Character breakfast that eats up about 2 hours of your time. Just my little plug for Walt's original park.Also you are not nuts there was a submarine ride, at Disneyland they redid it into a Finding Nemo ride. We were in DisneyWorld in the spring of 2007, and I was very disapointed. I was really suprised by the lack of "Disney Magic", and the crowds!!! I was so irritated with humanity by the time we left.And for your hotel list we stayed at a Residence Inn that had a kitchen in the room and also provided a full cooked breakfast. Really a good deal. Anyway, I hope that you are home safe and sound and beginning the recoperation process!Oh yeah! On the plus side all the walking makes up for all the extra calories!!! Ha Ha!!!

Hi Dawn. I've been readin your blog for a while now but never left a comment. Today after your post I couldn't resist. I went to Disney in 1999 and I remember the submarine ride. I can't remember specifics but it felt like you were so far down, then when you saw it from above in the overhead skyrail, it was only just below the surface.

Regarding the ride in The Land: The Living with the Land ride has changed slightly - adding the recorded narration instead of a personal "tour guide". I think perhaps you're remembering an old show that used to be located where Soarin' is now. I think it was called Food Rocks, and the story examined the "lives" of the food in your refrigerator, with several foods singing solos parodying your old and new favorite songs. Regarding 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: It's been gone for years, having been replaced with Ariel's Grotto and Pooh's Playful Spot. Disneyland still makes use of the Submarines.

hi dawn!yes, you are right... the song from the land has changed... it did used to be 'listen to the land, listen to the land, listen to the laaaaaannnnnd, listen to the land.' and the singing veggies and fruits that you're remembering were in a show called kitchen caberaet (sp?) and they sang a song that went, 'veggie, veggie, fruit, fruit, veggie fruit, fruit'

hope this helps! i was very sad when they got rid of that show and when they changed to song on the boat ride.

don't know if you're a fan of GE's carosuel of progress over at the magic kingdom? but, that song has been changed too. the old one was WAY better and far more likely to get stuck in your head. =)

I remember the submarine ride at the Anaheim Disneyland in CA. I lived in CA from '65 to '72 and went to Disneyland often. The submarine was among our favorite rides. I also remember the Tiki Room, but thought it fairly lame when we visited Disney World a few years ago. I had expected them to have upgraded it more (I last saw it in '77), as they had the Pirates of the Caribbean and was disappointed that they hadn't. Nevertheless it is a magical place for families to create some awesome memories.

The one thing I missed at Disney World that was in Disneyland was the "Home of the Future." We triple checked cause I expected an updated version. I saw the one in Anaheim in the 60's and couldn't believe I'd ever live long enough to see most of the things masproduced for individual family use, like: ovens that cooked with some kind of waves, where the food got hot and the plate didn't, or dishwashers that would actually dispose of the garbage that didn't come off the plates during prerinsing, or entertainment centers with huge (36x36") pull-down screens that displayed projected pictures like at the movies. Guess I'm feeling nostalgic but you know you're old when the unbelievable products of the future have become obsolete and been replaced by better technology.

Oh yes, I remember the singing veggies and fruits...I think I made my parents ride that 2 or 3 times because I loved it. I remember bringing home a stuffed tomato from the ride's gift shop :) Does anyone remember a dinosaur ride at Epcot?? That had animatronic dinosaurs and fog?? I remember it scared the shit out of me when I was little!

When we went to Disney in 2003, my girls were 9 and 10 -- my husband (who is disabled) was able to come (and generally only spent half-days in the parks with hit), and we were also accompanied by my brother (who was single at the time.) I was a devotee of The Unofficial Guide to Disney World and a big fan of their touring plans. We went during Thanksgiving Week (taking the girls out of school for 3 days) and that book saved us oodles of line-time by using their touring plans. However, at one point I noticed my "DH" (and I don't mean "dear" husband in this case) conferring in whispered tones with my brother - when I asked what they were talking about, they told me that they both needed to use the restroom, but didn't think it was in the plan yet for that day. Guess I should take some pointers from your family in the "laid-back" arena!!

Beautiful family, Dawn - you must be doing something right, if you all got home in one piece!!

I remember the submarine ride. It is one of my favorite clostrophobic memories. I can't remember if I made a hasty exit or was trapped and hyperventalating. I think I was trapped. When we visited Charleston, SC we toured a submarine. The rooms were glassed off, the ceiling was maybe 6 feet high, and you kept stepping through port holes (? small doors that could be closed to stop water flow). There were people in front of us and behind us. About 30 feet in I left the family behind and PUSHED MY WAY TO SAFETY/AIR. Fun times.

oh yup I remember "The Land" ride at Epcot I was a 21 year old student from the UK working in the US and we visited Epcot (jeepers is that 20 years ago....groan) Some of the rides back then were still a little cheesy and seemed to hark back to the 1970's but I loved every little bit of it. Ohhhh I have gone all nostalgic !!!